Real hot doggies in Phoenix

I admit it. Whenever I travel, I miss my canine companions. And, just like most dog lovers, I have a couple of photos of Gorby, Yuri, Greta, Boris and Marx on my cell phone which I look at before I go to sleep. (It’s true).

It is just not the same going home to a hotel room without the wagging tails and the loving kisses. So if I travel and if I do get a chance, I make sure I take a trip to a pet store, park, zoo or any place where I might to see some animals up close – and get to hold them, too.

Just like I did last week.

I was in Phoenix, Arizona and I missed my four doggies a lot. OK, I missed Gorby, a Toy Poodle and my newest pup, the most.

I am not a great lover of shopping but I am glad that Pam Pastor of the Inquirer, who was with me in Phoenix, is. "Let’s go to the Metro Center," says Pam to me. "Shopping?" I ask. And off to the Metro Center we

were. Mind you, the Metro Center is an hour bus ride from downtown Phoenix.

And there it was. Animal Kingdom.

"So, what can we do for you today?" says a friendly Tammy of Animal Kingdom. "I can show you any of the pups you want."

"A Toy Poodle," was my eager reply.

This pet store has large shop windows where I could peep at the pups while they slept or played. There were two pups to a cage, "so they won’t get lonely," I was told. The cages were clean, and each of them had a water dispenser. "We want our customers to hold the pups and see if they can bond well with them," said Tammy to me as she handed me a three-month-old Toy Poodle.

Tammy gave me a brief history about the Toy Poodle. "She’s a feisty little girl but she’s loving, too." As I was playing with the pup, Tammy informed me that if I wanted she could find out for me if I could take the pup inside the Cathay Pacific flight. "I know that toy breeds can ride inside the plane as long as they are in carriers," said Tammy to me. Tammy also gave me all the info about the shots that the pup had and, since she needed one more, it would be given immediately so the pup could fly back with me. Tammy also told me that all the pups they sell had been tested for whether they have any hereditary conditions.

"I have been working with dogs for 14 years of my life," Tammy quipped.

"Sometimes I like working with dogs more than people."

Animal Kingdom, a family-owned and operated company, has been around for the last 38 years. It is the business of the company to provide quality companion pets for their customers.

"So what happens if a pet has an undetected hereditary or congenital condition which develops after the pup is bought?" I ask.

"We get the pets tested but if something comes up and it is found to be congenital or hereditary we give you another pup for free. And you get to keep the first pup, too," said Tammy. She also told me that there is an Animal Replacement Policy for a small amount, which a customer can get so that should the pup die in an accident within two years Animal Kingdom will replace the pet at no extra cost.

I stayed in the store for almost an hour. The time had passed too quickly to notice. Yet, Tammy didn’t at any time during my stay make me feel that I was wasting her time. She let me play with the pup for as long as I wanted.

It was the same with the other customers who came in while I was there – and no one was complaining.

I thought long and hard about taking the pup home with me. I wanted to.

But I chose not to.

As I left the store I got hold of the Animal Kingdom brochure. Here’s what it says:

The healing power of pets

There have been many documented and published reports in the last decade from the Purdue University and the American Veterinary Medical Association. The reports confirm a multitude of benefits enjoyed with pet ownership. A few facts:

Pet owners

• Achieve and maintain lower blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels

• Have lower stress levels

• Report less minor health problems and have fewer visits to the doctor

• Enjoy a reduced risk of heart disease

• Are more active, have more social interaction and are less lonely Indeed.

I left Animal Kingdom happy to have been able to play with a Toy Poodle pup. I also made a silent prayer to the god of dogs that one day all pet shops in Manila would understand and treat the animals they find human companions for as lovingly as Tammy does.